United States v. Kimmy

United States District Court, D. Minnesota

June 1, 2017

United States of America, Plaintiff,v.Gregory Kimmy, a/k/a Fat P, Defendant.

ORDER AND MEMORANDUM

DONOVAN W. FRANK UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This
matter is before the Court on the Government's request
for de novo review of Magistrate Judge Andrew W.
Austin's Order Setting Conditions of Release filed on May
30, 2017, Doc. No. 14, United States of America v.
Kimmy, 1:17-MJ-375 (W.D. Tex. May 30, 2017)
(“Kimmy I”). (Doc. No. 58.) After the
Magistrate Judge ordered Defendant released, the Government
filed an emergency motion seeking a stay of the release,
which the Court granted pending its review of the Order.
(Doc. Nos. 59 & 60.) The Government argues that Defendant
should not be released because there is no set of conditions
that would reasonably assure the safety of the community and
Defendant's appearance at trial or that Defendant will
not abide by the conditions of release. After the Court
granted the stay, the Magistrate Judge issued an order and
supplement to the order detailing his bases for granting
release. (Kimmy I, Doc. Nos. 17 & 18) Both
parties have filed responses to the Magistrate Judge's
orders. (Doc. Nos. 68 & 71.)

Based
upon the presentations of counsel, the Court having reviewed
the file in this matter, including the parties'
submissions to the Magistrate Judge (Kimmy I, Doc.
Nos. 2 & 6), the audio transcript from the May 30, 2017
hearing, Magistrate Judge's Order and Supplement to the
Order, the Pretrial Services Report, as well as the letters
from friends and family on behalf of the Defendant, and the
Court being otherwise duly advised in the premises, the Court
hereby enters the following:

ORDER

1. The
Government's Motion for Emergency Stay and for Review and
Revocation of Release Order (Doc. No. [58]) is
GRANTED.

2.
Pending further order of this Court or hearing before this
Court, the Court REVOKES the release order
entered by Magistrate Judge Andrew W. Austin on May 30, 2017.
The Court specifically finds, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §
3142(e)(3), that there is no condition or combination of
conditions that will reasonably assure the defendant's
appearance as required and the safety of the community.

3.
Detention Hearing. The Court reserves the
right to set a detention hearing before it once the defendant
is present in the District of Minnesota and has had an
opportunity to consult with counsel.

Consequently,
the Court specifically orders that Defendant be detained
pending further order of this Court.

MEMORANDUM

Defendant
Gregory Kimmy was indicted as a member of an international
sex-trafficking and money-laundering organization. Kimmy has
been charged with Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by
Force, Fraud, and Coercion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §
1594 (Count 1); Conspiracy to Commit Transportation to Engage
in Prostitution, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371
and 2421 (Count 3); Conspiracy to Engage in Money Laundering,
in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h) (Count 4); and
Conspiracy to Use a Communication Facility to Promote
Prostitution, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371,
1952 (Count 5). Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, if
convicted of these offenses, Defendant faces an advisory
sentence of life in prison.

Defendant
was allegedly one of the house bosses for the sex-trafficking
organization. House bosses would run the day-to-day
operations, including advertising victims for commercial sex
acts, procuring and maintaining the houses of prostitution,
scheduling sex buyers, and ensuring that a portion of the
cash was routed back to pay down the victim's bondage
debts. (Doc. No. 46 (“Indictment”) ¶ 5b.) In
exchange, house bosses retained a significant portion of the
cash that the victims received, typically 40%. (Id.)
House bosses would also coordinate with traffickers and other
house bosses to facilitate the victims' travel to other
cities in the United States. (Id.) Once victims were
lured to the United States, they were forced to work long
hours-often all day, every day-having sex with strangers to
attempt to pay down their bondage debt. Victims typically did
not have the ability to choose with whom they had sex, what
sex transactions they would engage in, or when they would
have sex. (Id. ¶ 4.)

Defendant
and his wife are both indicted house bosses in this case.
(Id. ¶ 5.) Defendant and his wife are lessors
of a house where law enforcement observed activity consistent
with an active house of prostitution-i.e., a series of men,
later identified by the victims as sex buyers, entering and
leaving the house at hourly intervals. (Doc. No. 58 at 8-9.)
Defendant was observed at the house of prostitution, and a
phone number associated with him was used to schedule sex
buyers. (Kimmy I, Doc. No. 17 (“Order”)
¶ 2.) Additionally, the Government states that
witnesses-including a co-defendant-will testify that
Defendant was a house boss.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Defendant
has sought pretrial release. The Pretrial Services Report
recommended that Defendant be detained because of: (1) the
nature of the offense; (2) Defendant&#39;s foreign ties-his
step-son lives in Thailand, and Defendant&#39;s wife owns a
home there; (3) Defendant&#39;s possession of a valid U.S.
Passport; (4) Defendant&#39;s trip to Thailand in 2014; and
(5) Defendant&#39;s ownership of a firearm. The Magistrate
Judge, however, granted conditional release, and the
Government appealed. The district court conducts a de
novo review of release and detention orders. Pursuant to
Rule ...

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